Tag "United States of America"

Six grassroots environmental activists will receive the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize today.
To date, 194 winners from 89 different nations have received this award.
This year’s winners include an environmental and human rights lawyer who stopped the destruction of Liberia’s tropical forests, a conservationist who helped create a large protected area in Mongolia and a biologist from North Macedonia who fought against hydropower plants planned inside a critical habitat of the rare Balkan lynx.
The winners also include an indigenous leader from Chile who led a movement against two hydroelectric projects on a sacred river, a marine conservationist who campaigned to protect the Cook Islands’ marine biodiversity, and an activist from the U.S. who rallied residents to stop the construction of a massive oil export terminal that could have threatened the health and safety of the local community. “I am so moved and inspired by these six environmental trailblazers,” Susie Gelman, president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, said in a statement. “Each of them has selflessly stood up to stop injustice, become a leader when leadership was critical, and vanquished powerful adversaries who would desecrate our planet.
These are six ordinary, yet extraordinary, human beings who remind us that we all have a role in protecting the Earth.”
The winners will be honored at the San Francisco Opera House in California, U.S., on April 29.
Former U.S. vice president and environmental activist Al Gore will present the keynote address.
Here are the winners of the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize:

As someone who once took a work-related day trip to San Francisco it is a little hypocritical of me to criticise others for taking long-haul flights for vanishingly brief holidays.
But for all sorts of reasons it really is a terrible idea.
Environmentally, the trend is a disaster, whatever the airlines say about greener aircraft and the rise of biofuels making flying less destructive.
“We need to encourage slow travel and local travel rather than jetting halfway across the world for three days.
That’s just not eco-friendly.” Wilson-Powell says flying is a touchstone in the war raging over climate change.
“One of the most impactful things you can do if you want to live a more sustainable life is not fly,” she says.
“Flying across the world for two or three days at a time doesn’t fit in to that.” She suggests that if you are flying long haul you should try to carbon offset – Emma Thompson’s get-out for her recent flight from Los Angeles was to join the Extinction Rebellion protest in London.
There is also the question of what weekend breakers get from taking a bite-sized chunk of a complex culture, and what they are putting in to the place they visit.
“We encourage travellers to spend their money with people who really deserve it,” says Wilson-Powell.
There are hotspots around the world that people want to get their photos taken in.” These are less bite-sized holidays than Instagram holidays.

What is the Tropical Forest Conservation Act?
It’s a law that redirects countries’ debt to the U.S. into the conservation of forests, wildlife and now — for the first time — coral reefs.
Why coral reefs in a law with “tropical forests” in the name?
Coral reefs were included in the reauthorization at the suggestion of Conservation International, which worked to build support for the act.
How does TFCA work?
It uses debt-for-nature swaps, which enable countries to trade their debt to the U.S. for funds to protect nature in their own country.
Conservation International was the first to employ a debt-for-nature swap in a project in Bolivia, even before the U.S. government had signed TFCA into law.
Why was Conservation International involved in getting the law reauthorized?
“If the country agrees to a debt-for-nature swap, then the U.S. government, beneficiary country and often a non-profit organization, such as Conservation International, work together to develop a specific project,” he said.
But … The reauthorization act only signed TFCA into law for two years, which means in 2020, it will lapse again.

Joining an OPEC-led bloc to keep oil off the global market to push prices up, Russia to start the year had agreed to cut 228,000 b/d from October levels.
Yet in March, the nation’s production was just 190,000 b/d less.
As a sanctioned U.S. country, the question I want to answer: Do We Import Oil From Russia?
This fall makes sense since U.S. crude production has more than doubled since 2011 to around 12.2 million b/d today, while domestic demand has been flat at 19-20 million b/d.
Russia’s oil exports in 2018 totaled $130 billion, up nearly 40% from the year before.
Each year, Russia has an extra 8-9 million b/d of crude oil available for export, the largest oil surplus in the world.
Oil prices would fall to that level if OPEC abandoned its deal as well.
In contrast, U.S. proven reserves have increased 66% over that time to 50 billion barrels.
Russia realizes the undeniable ongoing importance of oil and gas and is seeking to develop the Artic for its treasure trove of natural resources.
In addition, although the country has not yet needed to exploit it, there is unlimited potential in Russia for shale oil and gas production.

awkward night at the museum Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, known for his strong anti-environmental policies and intention to open up the Amazon rainforest to increased deforestation, will be one of the guests of honor next month at a gala at, wait for it, the American Natural History Museum.
On May 14th, the New York museum, whose permanent collections include the hall of biodiversity and the hall of North American forests, is scheduled to house the black-tie event, hosted by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.
Each year, the organization honors two “persons of the year” — one Brazilian, one American– who have advanced economic ties between the two countries.
While the American honoree has not yet been announced, Bolsonaro is slated to take the Brazilian slot, Gothamist reports.
But the irony of lauding a man who has repeatedly aired racist, homophobic and misogynist views all the while rolling back environmental protections in the Amazon at a venue dedicated to the natural world has not been lost on advocates or fans of the museum.
“The fact that American Museum of Natural History would accept an event for something so counter to their own values, they should be ashamed themselves,” Priscila Neri, a Brazilian activist with the New York City-based human rights organization WITNESS, told Gothamist.
“In a moment when there’s been a rise of authoritarianism around the world, they’re giving a positive nod to a man who is rolling back human rights protections and scientific knowledge.” Bolsonaro, dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics,” has undertaken an aggressive campaign of deforestation and mining that indigenous groups have likened to an “institutionalization of genocide in Brazil.” The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce has close ties to the Bolsonaro regime.
Earlier this week, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ted Helms struck a $9 billion dollar deal with Bolsonaro’s government to sell oil production rights, and the organization’s president and board chairman, Alexandre Bettamio, was reportedly one of Bolsonaro’s choices to run the country’s state-run bank.
To be fair to the American Natural History Museum, the pro-Bolsonaro event is external, meaning the Museum is only acting as a venue; the event was also booked at the before the honoree was announced.
Roberto Lebron, a spokesperson for the museum, told Gothamist that the event “does not in any way reflect the Museum’s position that there is an urgent need to conserve the Amazon Rainforest, which has such profound implications for biological diversity, indigenous communities, climate change, and the future health of our planet.” Museum representatives also tweeted that they are “deeply concerned” and are exploring their options.

More than 5 million birds from at least 250 different species fly through the Windy City’s downtown every fall and spring.
Deadly appetite: 10 animals we are eating into extinction Read more The famous skyline of Manhattan is another death trap for birds, especially those migrating.
“They wind up landing somewhere that’s unfamiliar, like a sidewalk somewhere,” said Susan Elbin, director of conservation and science at New York City Audubon, a leading bird advocacy organization.
Any city with glass structures and bright lights at night is a culprit, but some are more dangerous to birds than others.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology published a study this week that ranks cities based on the danger they pose to migrating birds.
Houston and Dallas, which also lie along some of the most popular migration paths, round out the top three most deadly cities after Chicago.
“We’re trying to raise awareness – trying to provide data and insight that could help,” he said.
The organization estimates about 90,000 to 200,000 birds are killed via building collision in the city each year.
Local Audubon chapters and other bird conservation groups around the country coordinate similar data collection exercises.
Conservationists also advocate that buildings adopt more “bird-friendly” designs, for example using patterned glass and dimmer lighting.

The primary difference between Europe and North America could be summarized like this: In America there is a freight rail system with some passenger, while in Europe there is a passenger rail system with some freight — the emphasis is different.
When journey times are less than four hours, people usually prefer to travel by train instead of alternative options, such as air or road.
Higher-speed options often allow existing rail tracks to be upgraded to accommodate speeds of around 110 miles per hour to around 125 miles per hour, and such projects are being implemented in Florida and the Midwest.
Routes to Better Environmental Performance The majority of trains in the U.S. are diesel-electric, where a diesel engine runs a generator, supplying electric traction motors that turn the wheels.
However, electricity can also be supplied by the grid to trains via wayside infrastructure, and this option accounts for about 4.5 percent of rail energy, more than for any other mode, with the majority being used in transit and commuter operation, and some intercity rail.
Therefore, when the electricity generation mix becomes less greenhouse gas-intensive, those rail systems automatically follow.
For the lines where wayside electrification is not economically feasible — imagine routes that are long, such as Chicago to Los Angeles — or where traffic is relatively low, rail will continue to rely on on-board electric power generation.
Rail is developing options to reduce emissions for lines without wayside electrification too, with advanced diesel engine technologies, and exploration of less polluting energy options, including natural gas.
Having batteries to supply power to trains can significantly reduce or fully avoid conventional wayside electrification, decreasing cost and visual impact as no overhead wires are necessary on the right-of-way.
Detroit’s QLine, for example, operates 60 percent on battery power, or “off-wire.”

His psychiatrist, Dr. Drew Ramsey, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, was impressed: “You’re the only person I’ve prescribed them to who came back and said he ate 36!” Dr. Ramsey, the author of several books that address food and mental health, is a big fan of oysters.
They are rich in vitamin B12, he said, which studies suggest may help to reduce brain shrinkage.
Dr. Ramsey is a pioneer in the field of nutritional psychiatry, which attempts to apply what science is learning about the impact of nutrition on the brain and mental health.
A survey published in 2017 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that only one in 10 adults meets the minimal daily federal recommendations for fruit and vegetables — at least one-and-a-half to two cups per day of fruit and two to three cups per day of vegetables.
But Dr. Ramsey says that it is still rare for people to pay attention to the food needs of the most complex and energy-consuming organ in the body, the human brain.
The patient Dr. Ramsey was seeing that day credits the nutritional guidance, including cutting down on many of the processed and fried foods and fatty meats that used to be part of his diet, with improving his mood and helping him overcome a long-term addiction to alcohol.
Another study of 422 young adults from New Zealand and the United States showed higher levels of mental health and well-being for those who ate more fresh fruits and vegetables.
Interestingly, the same benefits did not accrue to those who ate canned fruits and vegetables.
Those who received general coaching showed no such benefits.
“Some of the key nutrients for the brain, like long chain omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin B12, are simply not found in vegetable only diets,” says Dr. Deans.

Big Oil is panicked by the looming end to the domination of the U.S. transportation system by the internal combustion engine.
A few years ago, the oil industry was shrugging off the threat of electric vehicles, predicting that EVs would reach only 5 percent of global market share by the mid-2030s.
According to EnergyWire, EV sales in the U.S. grew by more than 80 percent last year.
Energy Innovation expects EVs to make up to 75 percent of sales by 2050 — more than 15 million electric cars and trucks a year.
EVs are already cheaper to drive than gas guzzlers.
As that trend continues, Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts the costs of buying and operating an EV will be cheaper than comparable gasoline-powered cars by the middle of next decade.
That’s a win-win for the climate and for public health.
EVs save lives.
The oil industry and other supporters of ending the EV tax credit say they’re only trying to level the playing field.
But compare the EV tax credit, which currently totals about $400 million per year, to federal subsidies to the oil industry, which total $4.6 billion a year.

Since shale gas has become so abundant, and U.S. prices so much below world natural gas prices, numerous export projects have been built or proposed.
Which is not to say there are market opportunities.
For decades, producers invested only when they had long-term contracts for their supply, usually priced equivalent to oil based on heat content.
As the figure shows, the primary markets for U.S. LNG so far have been the main Asian buyers, but the small scale sales have, to date, been a significant minority of the business.
To an Asian buyer paying $10-12/mcf five years ago, a guaranteed price of $8/Mcf is supremely attractive.
The huge U.S. shale resource would seem to guarantee that prices will remain moderate for a long time, reducing the price risk for buyers who agree to prices unrelated to world oil, and most other LNG, prices.
So do low oil prices make LNG exports a riskier business?
European buyers, however, while also mostly utilities have access to pipeline gas from Russia.
(China will eventually import some Russian gas via pipeline, but minimal amounts compared to the country’s need.)
Russia, with an extensive natural gas pipeline network in place (and expanding) and natural gas which is cheap to produce, will have every incentive to keep up sales to Europe.

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